Is your screen time ageing your skin? Dermatologist Dr Ajay Rana reveals how modern living affects your complexion

For today’s women, skincare has evolved far beyond the traditional routine of cleansing and moisturizing. Excessive working hours, screen exposure, urban pollution, disrupted sleep patterns, and the mental overload of juggling jobs, family, and personal commitments are slowly but surely accelerating the skin’s aging process.

Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times. She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust. Career journey and experience Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee. She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon. From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today?” Subject expertise With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions. In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context. Education and professional background Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first. Editorial Philosophy I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers.

Most women notice it before it becomes obvious: persistent lackluster skin, uneven pigmentation, excessive dryness, hints of breakouts, or fine lines creeping in years earlier than they expected. "Hormones and genetics still contribute, but environmental and lifestyle factors have also become equally meaningful contributors to skin health," Dermatologist Dr Ajay Rana, Founder & Director of ILAMED, and President of the Indian Society of Aesthetic Medicine (ISAM), tells Health Shots .

One of the hottest topics these days is long exposure to digital screens . While the blue light emitted by phones and laptops is substantially lower in energy than ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight, newer studies suggest that cumulative exposure to blue light could lead to a buildup of oxidative stress in cutaneous cells, especially in women with darker skin tones who are prone to hyperpigmentation.